HDK’s son to make debut in costliest Kannada film ever

The Rs 60-cr Nikhil-starrer will also be the film with the highest budget for any new actor, including sons of superstars in the Tamil and Telugu film industries

Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Gowda will make his film debut in a Rs 60-crore extravaganza. This will not only be the costliest film ever to be made in Sandalwood, but will also be the film with the highest budget for any new actor, including sons of superstars in Tamil and Telugu. Nikhil's attempt at a film career was made official a few months ago with Kumaraswamy himself confirming it and announcing it would be a home production (the former CM was a film producer before entering politics). However, nothing much was heard after that. It now comes to light that Nikhil has been training hard at acting and dancing the last few months while Kumaraswamy was finalising scripts listening to (curiously) many Telugu film directors including Ram Gopal Varma, Puri Jagannadh, Sukumar and SS Rajamouli among others.
But the biggest news coming from the political family is that the budget of the film would be in the region of Rs 60 crore. A Rs 5 crore plus film in Kannada would be considered a ‘big-budget’ film. Very few films with a budget of more than Rs 10 crore have been made. The only film with a budget of more than Rs 20 crore was the historical Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna made two years ago. No other film has come close since then. Earlier this week, Prashanth Neel announced the film KGF starring Yash that would have a budget of Rs 40 crore. %That would have been the %biggest film (in terms of budget) ever to be made in Kannada. But Nikhil and Kumaraswamy seem to have other plans. The news channel run by Nikhil's mother Anitha Kumaraswamy is set to announce the budget of this film on Tuesday.
Even when compared to other languages including Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, a budget of Rs 60 crore is huge. A handful of films made in India have crossed the budget of Rs 100 crore. Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films occupy the top three slots. The recent Tamil release I is touted as the costliest film ever made in India. The under-production Telugu film Bahubali is said to have a similar budget. But when it comes to launching a new hero, the budget of Nikhil’s film will be way above that of the sons of even superstars of other languages. Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan made his debut in Chirutha, which had a budget of Rs 17 crore. His next film Magadheera, a period-fantasy, cost Rs 35 crore. Another Telugu star Nagarjuna's son Naga Chaitanya made his debut with Josh that had a budget of Rs 15 crore. His next film Ye Maaya Chesave is said to have cost Rs 12.5 crore.

TRAINING IN VIETNAM

'Nikhil's film will be launched in May-end or early June, sources said. “He is undergoing training in dance and acting for the last few months. In April, he will go to Vietnam for a 30-40-day training in kickboxing. The film will be announced as soon as he returns. As of now, it looks like Puri Jagannadh will direct the movie. It is 99 percent sure,” family sources said. “Prabhudeva will be choreographing one song,” the source adds.
Kumaraswamy is said to be in touch with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy. This is because the film is likely to be made in Telugu simultaneously. “Kumaranna is in touch with both Naidu and Reddy. They have promised support to launch Nikhil. Kumaranna wants the film to be made in Telugu too,” the source said.

It is a political investment

The idea behind getting Nikhil into films is politics. He is the grandson of JDS supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. His father has been a chief minister. His uncle HD Revanna is also a seasoned politician and former minister. Revanna's son Prajwal has officially entered politics recently. Nikhil is yet to cement his place in this family of politicians. He has tried to cut his teeth in politics. Last year, he was seen protesting against the highway toll on Bellary Road. With both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections a few years away, there is need for Nikhil to be in the limelight lest Prajwal walks away with the first-mover advantage, say political insiders.

Filmi Sons of Politicians

Sons of politicians trying to make a mark in films before entering politics is not new. Sandalwood has seen its fair share of such attempts, some successful too. Former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Kumar Bangarappa made a successful career for himself in films in the late 80s and early 90s before becoming an MLA and minister. His brother Madhu Bangarappa too was in films as an audio company owner before turning a full-time politician. His acting career, though, did not take off. Current chief minister Siddaramaiah's son Rakesh, who has been announced as his political heir, too tried a hand in films a decade ago. But the only film he acted in was not completed. GS Anand, known in Sandalwood as Siddhanth (films include Minchu and AK56) is the nephew of Congress leader G Parameshwara.

Rs 1 Cr already invested

Sources say Kumaraswamy has already spent Rs 1 crore and purchased the remake rights of six films, including the Tamil film Kaththi, Telugu film Race Gurram, and a Hindi film. It was earlier rumoured that Nikhil would debut in a remake of the Telugu film Leader, in which the protagonist ends up becoming the chief minister of a state. But now, since the debut will be in both Kannada and Telugu, an original film is in the offing. Kumaraswamy produced five Kannada films before he became the chief minister. In 2003, when the KFCC and the Kannada Film Producers Association were locked in a battle over service tax, he split the producers body to form Kannada Film Producers Vedike.